With Moonstone’s Phantom books now having ended as Dynamite Entertainment has taken over the licence, yours truly desperately tries to sum up an era in the history of the Ghost Who Walks in ten points, to find out why I liked their products so damn much and followed their work with great excitement throughout all these years:

10. Variety
Moonstone’s output has arguably been more varied in style, tone and storytelling-approach than any other Phantom publisher in history. Throughout eight years of stories, we have seen the Phantom appear in short stories, regular comic books, graphic novels, mini-series, maxi-series, annuals, and as a back-up feature in other Moonstone comics. The Ghost Who Walks even got to premiere the company’s newly invented “wide-vision” format with Joe Gentile and Paul Guinan’s controversial story “Law of the Jungle” (continuing with Rafael Nieves’ and Vatche Mavlian’s superb “Man-Eaters”, probably Moonstone’s best story and possibly the finest Phantom story of the previous decade). But the ways different writers have approached the character and his adventures are also very different from each other. Compare the dark semi-realism of the “Invisible Children” trilogy to the fast and fun “The Singh Web” (a loving homage to the Billy Zane-starring Phantom movie) and you’ll see what I mean. Yet, you never doubted that you were reading a Phantom story.

9. Staying power
Moonstone is the only US publisher who NEVER gave up on the Phantom, despite the character’s inability to sell as many comic books in the states as the hundreds of other characters he influenced. Eventually carving out what I guess could be described as something of a niche audience, they found a way to make the Phantom a success (although obviously not on the level of lesser interesting copycats like Batman) in the country where many had tried and failed before them.
For that alone they deserve massive applause. It’s also fair to say that I have grown up with this Phantom in the same way I have grown up with the Egmont Phantom, which I never expected at the start of Moonstone’s run. I was essentially a kid when they started publishing, now I am 21 (some will no doubt say that still makes me a kid, but hey).

8. Focus on what makes the Phantom unique
Often we see stories that merely feature the Phantom, but doesn’t necessarily bother to play to his strengths and use the elements of the figure that makes him unique. There is nothing wrong with that, since not all stories would even benefit from this. However, Moonstone has done a tremendous job focusing on what makes the Phantom, well, the Phantom, throughout most of their long run. Bringing back classic Falk-created characters is one thing. Strong focus on the Phantom’s mystique, an at times very heavy reliance on atmosphere, and showing just how awe-inspiring the Walker-line’s purpose in life must be is something only DC Comics managed before them in the US. In most of their stories, Moonstone did a great job showing what makes the Phantom the world’s best fictional character.

7. They gave me a cameo

Yes, yours truly had the pleasure of “playing” the part of the unforgettable “Paul Jonassen”, the Walker family’s luckless driver, in the five-part story “Checkmate”, where I even had the unique pleasure of seeing myself killed in a car crash by one of the Phantom’s coolest villains, Manuel Ortega. Why this didn’t lead to major starring roles in Hollywood movies is anybody’s guess, but I’m still open for negotiations.

6. The villains
One could argue that the Phantom needed something of a regular “rogues gallery” (though I am glad he’s never had one to rival the likes of Batman or Spider-Man, where the fact that the heroes continually catches villains like the Joker and Doctor Octopus, only for them to return again and again seriously makes the hero look a bit rubbish at what he does). Characters like terrorist Ali Gutalee, the hideously scarred (both physically and mentally) Manuel Ortega (who paints his ruined face to resemble a skull!), an updated version of Falk’s Sky Band (led by the character of Sara, daughter of Sala, who is for a long time under the impression that one Kit Walker is her father). Ben Raab even gave the Man Who Cannot Die an enemy that uses the same “father to son” concept as the Walkers, going by the name of Kua the Undying, where the latest son in the line showed up to avenge the 21st Phantom for a conflict that started at the time of the 1st Phantom. Some of these bad guys could make even James Bond consider handing in his Double-O licence, and they presented real, memorable challenges for the Man Who Cannot Die.

5. Diana Palmer
When the Moonstone run started in 2002, one could argue Ben Raab was the first writer able to do anything interesting with Diana in years. Sure, she’s still been kidnapped several times in stories both by him and other writers, but even then it felt interesting due to excellent plots (such as “Checkmate”). Moonstone’s Diana is tough, stubborn, and is more than a usable plot device (though she serves that function too!).

4. Entertainment value
One of the reasons I rarely read non-Phantom comics these days is that so many of them are pretentious, wannabe-deep and navel-gazing efforts obviously created by people who still think every story needs to be dark and gritty simply for the sake of it, with heroes matching all of those descriptions. Moonstone never once forgot you were there primarily to have fun, without losing sight of compelling characters, intriguing plots and, yes, depth. Moonstone’s marketing-phrase is “Books that are meant to be read”, which could not have been more fitting.


3. Plots from the headlines
If Ben Raab’s Phantom stories felt like “The Phantom: The Big Budget Action Movie!”, Mike Bullock’s tales feels like “The Phantom: The HBO Series!”. Whereas some of Raab’s plots (such as the insanely entertaining “The Aviatrix”) feels like they could have been used in James Bond movies, Bullock’s adventures are (fairly) grounded affairs, placing the Phantom in a world that is just a little different from our own. Bullock wrote some of the most relevant Phantom stories of recent years, seeing our hero face problems he should have been handling decades ago, such as child-soldiers (still waiting for a story from a Phantom publisher that comments on one of Africa’s biggest problems, AIDS, though. Maybe Moonstone would have gotten to it if their run had not been cut short).

2. Updating
Moonstone has managed to do what many has not even bothered to try before (the Marvel-series and the SyFy-mini comes to mind): updating the Phantom without really changing the core of the character at all. By modernizing the environment around the character more than they have modernized the Phantom himself, they made you feel that you were still reading the same comic that you had followed, but with a new, interesting shell around it. What few changes were made to the Phantom himself and his approach to fighting evil throughout the run made too much sense for most people to whine about them (though “in the Phantom community, somebody will always whine about something”. Old Jungle Saying), such as the kevlar-costume seen in later issues and the 1st Phantom’s original costume seen in “Legacy”.

1. The fact that I am really, really going to miss them
I never dreamed this take on the Phantom would last for eight years, and one would think I would be incredibly pleased with such a long run. However, right now the joy of seeing the character enjoy this kind of success in a country that often tends to ignore him is overshadowed by the sadness I feel that Moonstone will probably not publish more Phantom stories (though I would kill to be proven wrong on that). Going out on top is the best way to leave the stage, and Moonstone did that. The fact that I am already missing them is really the highest compliment I can possibly pay them.

A big thank you to the men at the Moon who helped the Ghost walk.

by Paul Jonassen

The Phantom series published by DC Comics called, you guessed it!, The Phantom, ran from 1989 to 1990, and has always been dear to my heart. Created by the, to use a cliché, dynamic duo of writer Mark Verheiden and artist Luke McDonnell, the series made a lasting impression on the character much bigger than its mere thirteen issues would suggest.

1988 marked the release of DC’s miniseries based on Lee Falk’s comic strip crusader. Written by the talented Peter David, drawn by Joe Orlando on top form, with excellent covers by Orlando and Watchmen-artist Dave Gibbons, the series was both a commercial and artistic success.

While a very good read in almost every way (only minor, but apparent, nitpicks prevent the story from being a true Phantom classic, such as turning Colonel Worubu into a white man!), the series’ greatest achievement must be the regular series it spawned: The Verheiden/McDonnell created book, which premiered in 1989. It sported a tone and feel very different from that of the newspaper strip, thereby probably alienating some traditional fans but also likely winning the character many new ones.

Verheiden’s Phantom is a much more introspective character than the one we read about in the newspaper every day. He can often get into deep reflections on his purpose in life – fighting a battle he knows for sure he can never win, potentially sacrificing his own happiness and life to follow an oath sworn by a man almost five hundred years ago. He is a man clearly marked by what he does with his life, something we have never seen before or after this series. This is perhaps the only take on the Phantom to be far more concerned with the man behind the mask than seeing the legend from an “outside” perspective. Though I am not sure if it was the creators’ intention, they made a series about what it means to be the Phantom and what such a heavy burden can do with a person, something that nobody has really succeeded at since (Egmont’s Phantom Year One stories kind of tried, but ultimately collapsed under the weight of unforgivable continuity problems).

This Phantom was, by Verheiden’s own admission, slightly angrier than the one seen in the comic strip, but given the gritty tone of the series and the realism of the situations The Man Who Cannot Die faces here, it’s absolutely appropriate. The charming, funny Phantom of the early Falk stories would not really work in this kind of setting, and Verheiden knows it.

It’s strange that despite coming out twenty years ago, these stories still feel like the most modern adventures told with the Phantom. Falk stories became increasingly more concerned with the Phantom fighting problems straight from the headlines as the mastermind got older, and both Egmont and Moonstone have made an effort to make their respective universes more up-to-date and realistic of late (which I applaud), yet none of them have managed to feel quite as REAL as what Verheiden and McDonnell managed. The reason might be that both companies still have one foot in the camp of classic Phantom stories, with pirates with scimitars, eye-patches and really bad hair, evil witch-doctors, countless hidden civilizations popping up again and again in Bengalla, and so on. Verheiden pretty much threw out these types of elements, and placed the Ghost Who Walks in the most believable Africa I’ve ever seen depicted in a comic (despite taking place in a country you won’t find on any map, of course). Gone are the slightly over-the-top villains we see frequently, this Phantom fights enemies that might not even be evil when all things are considered. Gone are the Singh Brotherhood, in its place we get the kind of pirates that we read about in the newspapers right now: real people committing terrible, cowardly crimes, real evil. Antagonists have more shades of grey than the sometimes black and white villains found in Falk and Egmont comics: some of them are not really bad at all, but act the way they do out of what is expected of them. A prime example of this is the captain who commits toxic dumping in Bengalla in the story Waste, which according to an interview done by Friends of the Phantom is Verheiden’s favourite of his own Phantom stories.

Waste also happens to be this writer’s favourite of the bunch, and if I were to make a top 10 list of the all time best Phantom stories (I probably will, so watch this space) this would surely be on it somewhere. It is certainly the most moving story ever crafted with the character (though Donne Avenell and Hans Lindahl’s masterpiece Eden gives it real competition), and I remember shedding a tear while reading the ending for the first time, around a decade ago. A haunting tale of a poor father trying to support his family by driving the poison that eventually ends up killing his own son, it has a maturity and honesty to it that assures that even if you only read it once you will never forget it.

The excellent two-parter Hate, on the other hand (Verheiden seems to have a thing for one-word titles), is the first ever story to make Kit confront his past in the US, as he travels back to the peaceful town he spent many happy years in to find out things have changed for the worse, with a group of racists terrorizing black inhabitants. Once again we get scarily believable villains, these people could be your neighbours. This is probably among the Phantom stories I’ve read the most times in my life, its impact and message of tolerance always powerful. It also has a moral that I try to live by to this day: do not judge people because of the colour of their skin, sexual preferences, etc., judge them by their character.

The only bizarre element is that US authority clearly knows very well who the normally mysterious Phantom is, and gives him permission to do whatever it takes to clean up the mess created by the antagonists. Maybe they knew him from reading the Phantom comic strip in their local papers?

The series’ best villain is easily British arms dealer Cammel, appearing in the two-part story that appeared in issues 1 and 2, Guns. Wicked, nasty and generally despicable in every way, he’s the kind of villain you wish would show up in that great Phantom movie we will likely never get. His ”I don’t care about what my actions do to people as long as I benefit from it”-attitude is one found everywhere bad things happen in this world.

Like so many of Lee Falk’s stories, this is a very romantic take on the Phantom. The writing really makes the reader feel that Kit and Diana are destined to be together, and Verheiden adds a sense of melancholia not found in the newspaper strip: Kit knows that he could possibly have been even happier with Diana if he didn’t have to follow his family legacy. This is a take that focuses heavily on the darker aspects of being the Ghost Who Walks, and Diana Palmer is here shown as the light in Mr. Walker’s at times dark existence. The story in issue 7, Gold Fever! (which deals with the cheery subject of death), ends with a lovely three-panel sequence of Diana walking towards a clearly shaken Phantom, putting her hand on his shoulder with him gratefully putting his left hand (with the Good Mark ring prominently displayed) on top of hers. No dialogue is needed, the sequence perfectly illustrates their relationship without a single word uttered.

Mark Verheiden’s words frequently feel like poetry, with beautifully constructed sentences and a real sense of depth. While too many comics that prominently features the lead character’s internal monologues end up pretentious, pointless and downright laughable by not really adding anything to the story and being poorly written, Verheiden never falls into these traps. The Phantom’s thoughts really add depth to the tales being told, and usually have some kind of relevance to the plot. Issue 3′s superb adventure Pirates is a great example of this, as it shows Mr. Walker’s disdain for this breed of criminal better than any other Phantom story by connecting the chilling story of a modern day pirate with the 21st Phantom reminiscing about something as normal as going to the movies with his father, to see a movie featuring, yes indeed, pirates.

McDonnell’s artwork matches the prose perfectly, giving the book a moody, gritty and almost sketch-like look unlike anything I have seen before or since in comics. I really like the body language he gave the character, his Phantom moves in a way different than other interpretations. Like he should, this Ghost Who Walks looks terrifying when angry, and like somebody you’d trust and respect when he isn’t.

Some of the book’s best and most memorable illustrations are not found in the action scenes, my favourites are the stunningly beautiful, intimate scenes of Kit and Diana together at Eden, where the terrific script is brought to life in a way reminiscent of a beautifully shot feature film. Marvellous stuff.

A minor nitpick is the fact that the colourist arguably gave the purple costume much too light a colour (a colour more like the one seen in recent Moonstone stories would have been far more appropriate for a series as realistic as this one.

The series finished with issue 13 (according to Verheiden because of dropping sales and licencing issues), which ended beautifully with the Phantom and Diana’s marriage. I would have loved to see at least another year’s worth of stories, but hey, that’s life, and the US just isn’t as big a market for the Phantom as the rest of the world.

Verheiden has since moved on to become a successfull writer for both film and TV, working on hit-movies such as The Mask, Timecop, the upcoming Teen Titans and Quartermain (starring Sam Worthington, who was at one point rumoured to be starring in the now likely dead The Phantom Legacy), as well as two films starring and directed by Bruce Campbell (who thankfully lost out on the title role of The Phantom to one Billy Zane) My Name is Bruce and the recently announced Bruce VS Frankenstein (the greatest title in motion picture history? Maybe).

He has also executive-produced TV-shows such as Heroes, Smallville and most importantly, the remake of Battlestar Galactica, the best work of fiction this writer had the pleasure of following last decade. Mouthwateringly, the man was also in talks to write what eventually became the 1996 Phantom movie. I can only imagine how much better the picture would have ended up being then.

McDonnell has continued to illustrate comics, among them Batman, and he also designs toys and figures, among them a beautiful, and these days very rare, Phantom figure that was released in the early 90s. He also revisited the Phantom in another way, drawing a superb, haunting cover for Friends of the Phantom’s Lee Falk memorial issue.

It goes without saying I would kill to see them both creating Phantom stories again one day, as, the world of the Ghost Who Walks would be an even richer and more complex place for it.

Thanks to Ed Rhoades (www.edrhoades.com/phantom), whose wonderful Friends of the Phantom magazines allowed me to find some of the information used in this article.

By Paul Andreas

by Paul Jonassen

The sole reason you are probably reading this very sentence, is because you are fond of following the adventures of a man who runs around in the jungles of Africa wearing the tightest costume imaginable. This is an activity we have all probably spent a fair share of time on (the reading, that is), so I took myself to wonder, what have I actually learnt from my time as a “Phan”? It turned out, quite a few things, actually:

1. It is, contrary to what one might believe, quite easy to scare evildoers while wearing a bright purple outfit.

2. Purple is in no way impractical in the green jungle environment (who cares about stealth and blending in anyway?).

3. Any new President of Bengalla will be despicable and evil.

4. Ancient rings NEVER break, even if you regularly use them to punch the crap out of bad guys.

5. It is possible to be born in 1978, yet still be around 12 in 2009, as Kit and Heloise proves.

6. When a new guy puts on a Phantom costume, people are suddenly completely unable to tell the difference between him and whoever wore it before (this neat little trick especially came in handy in the 1996 Phantom movie, where the character of Quill thought Billy Zane and Patrick “Old” McGoohan were the same guy).

7. The Jungle Patrol are the only organization in the world happy to work for a guy they don’t know who is.

8. NOBODY will be able to see your eyes as long as you wear sunglasses. Ever.

9. If there is a Guinness World Record for number of kidnappings, Diana Palmer has been the holder of it since 1936.

10. Mr. Walker obviously has some kind of supernatural sex-appeal, since he never fails to attract women, despite usually showing very little interest in them, never revealing his face, and wearing a trench coat which might have been fashionable when Alexander the Great was still alive.

11. Said trench coat allows him to glide in ANYWHERE he wants, despite making him stick out like a sore thumb wherever he goes. Amazing, isn’t it?

12. Do not trust witch doctors.

13. Guran is the only fat Bandar.

14. Despite the comic having featured dinosaurs, aliens, cave-monsters and Guran’s hat, fans are still proud to proclaim the Phantom as a realistic series.

15. Wolves apparently never age.

16. Neither do horses.

17. A horse and a wolf can easily outrun a plane, AND talk to each other (if you don’t believe me, just watch the Phantom movie for proof!).

18. E-mail is overrated. Getting your post by a monkey is the thing! Nevermind that they are a bit unreliable and will betray you for a banana.

19. The Vultures is an incredibly secret evil organization that nobody are supposed to know about, so it is only logical that every member have giant “V”-letters tattooed on their bald heads.

20. The Phantom fears nothing! Except his mother-in-law, off course.

21. Yes, there are indeed tigers in Africa.

22. After almost 500 years, the Phantom has still not learned how to put on his underpants correctly.

23. Alcohol is for pussies. Milk is the real deal, so wipe that grin of your face, Sarcastic Bartender.

24. Isn’t it hot wearing that outfit in the jungle? And isn’t it cold wearing it in the snow? No?

25. Guns shall never be used to actually shoot anybody.

26. What Eastern Dark is the Phantom guarding, exactly?

27. The Man Who Cannot Die dies rather frequently, as a matter of fact.

28. Certain Phans will whine and complain loudly no matter what is done with the character.

29. Just because you don’t rule the jungle in these days of political correctness doesn’t mean you can’t sit on your throne just to look cool and moody.

30. Breaking the neck of a lion/tiger is an underrated killing-method.

31. Remember, if you are unfortunate enough to fall into water full of crocodiles/sharks, or if you happen to be tied up, just drag your secret knife out of your boot and everything will be fine.

32. That Billy Zane is awesome, huh?

33. SyFy’s new take on the Phantom costume was most likely designed by a blind man.

34. Where did Jimmy Wells go?

35. Graham Nolan showed the Phantom’s eyes and lived to talk about it.

36. A Hans Lindahl-drawn character will have a face seemingly made of rubber.

37. Lubanga is dead! Only that he isn’t. Only that he is. And so on.

38. Diana Palmer sure looks a lot like Jaclyn Smith, doesn’t she?

39. There’s always time to drop whatever’s in your hands and take your kids to the Chronicle Chamber (the room, not the website) and teach them a good moral lesson.

40. Joe Douglas is a very nice guy since he is willing to use my ramblings on his website. Thanks, Joe.

41. You can’t kill me, I’m already dead (fact, Phans, yours truly was killed by the villainous Manuel Ortega in a faked car accident in Moonstone’s The Phantom #24. Check it out). Mwahahahaha!

42. The 21st Phantom was, according to Egmont’s Phantom Year One arc born ca. 1939, and became the Phantom around 1959. Yet, the sequel to this storyline, “Harvest of the Grim Reaper”, is clearly specified as taking place “today”. Weird, Kit Walker sure doesn’t look like a 70 year old, does he? Could somebody have forgotten all about their own continuity here? Hm? HM?!

43. Bad guys rarely bother to shave, especially not when they’re drawn by the great Sy Barry. Bad guys also always smoke like chimneys, and have a look in their eyes that simply screams “villain”.

44. The Phantom’s ancestors have altered the course of history several times and met a huge amount of famous people. How can it come the 21st Phantom hasn’t met anybody particularly famous (except me, off course)? He must seem like something of an underachiever in the eyes of his forefathers.

45. The Walker clan is rather unimaginative when it comes to naming their sons.

46. The Phantom is apparently deaf, as he gets knocked out from behind every second episode.

47. Mr. Walker apparently has magical eyes, which allows him to see in the dark despite wearing sunglasses.

48. The answer to a frequently asked geeky question: Yes, the Phantom would easily kick Batman’s whiny crybaby ass.

49. Lee Falk basically created what would later be known as the superhero, yet people happy to describe themselves as “comic book experts” are dumb/ignorant enough to ignore his influence again and again.

50. The 21st Phantom truly is The Man Who Never Dies. Kit Jr. is like the Prince Charles of the Walker line, a poor sod who will seemingly never get to inherit the family occupation.